Oruzgan, Afghanistan

Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

A medic tends to Shabarat Sageed, center, who is suffering from chest pains. He was flown to the U.S. military base in Tarin Kowt for treatment. During a recent two-day span, the platoon received half-a-dozen "nine lines," the emergency radio calls that list nine critical nuggets of information  location, severity of injury, type of patient, and so on.

A medic tends to Shabarat Sageed, center, who is suffering from chest pains. He was flown to the U.S. military base in Tarin Kowt for treatment. During a recent two-day span, the platoon received half-a-dozen "nine lines," the emergency radio calls that list nine critical nuggets of information  location, severity of injury, type of patient, and so on. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

A medic tends to Shabarat Sageed, center, who is suffering from chest pains. He was flown to the U.S. military base in Tarin Kowt for treatment. During a recent two-day span, the platoon received half-a-dozen "nine lines," the emergency radio calls that list nine critical nuggets of information  location, severity of injury, type of patient, and so on.